Special Needs Education in JapanThe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted at the 61st United
Nations General Assembly session held in December 2006 and came into effect in May 2008.
Japan signed this convention in September 2007 and is now preparing for its ratification.
A convivial society refers to a society where people with disabilities, who conventionally were
not necessarily in an environment where they could fully participate in the society, can actively
participate and contribute to the society.

A convivial society is an all-citizen-participating

society where everybody respects each other’s personality and individuality, supports each otherand accepts the differences among people.
In regard to the education for children with disabilities, Japan has made the decision to aim atforming an inclusive education system for building a convivial society. According to the reportof the Special Committee on the Future Direction of Special Needs Education of the
Subdivision on Elementary and Secondary Education of the Central Council for Education, an
inclusive education system refers to “a system that enables children with and without disabilities
to study together under the aim of developing respect for the differences in people andmaximally developing the mental and physical abilities of children regardless of the presence orabsence of disabilities, and to realize a free society in which every person can effectively
participate.”
Conventionally, education for children with disabilities in Japan has focused on providing
substantial and detailed education by instructing at special institutes and settings, such as
Special Schools for the Blind, Special Schools for the Deaf, Disabled Schools, and Special
Education Classes, according to the types and degrees of their disabilities.
Concerning the circumstances surrounding education for people with disabilities, there has beena shift in recent years to a more convivial society where every citizen, regardless of the presenceor absence of disabilities, respects and supports the personality and individuality of others. For
this reason, there is a need to shift the education system for students with disabilities from theconventional “Special Education,” where they are instructed in special settings according to thetypes and degrees of their disabilities, to a “Special Needs Education,” where the educational
needs of each student with disabilities are grasped and appropriate educational support isprovided, including support for students with Learning Disability (LD), Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA), who attend regular1classes. Furthermore, there is a need to prepare a framework for promoting this shift.
1. History
1.1 From the Meiji Restoration to the Second World War
In 1872, the Educational System was promulgated, becoming the foundation of Japan’s public
education system. The system called for universal schooling with the aim of developing theabilities of citizens to strengthen national power. It includes a section that passively regulates“schools for handicapped” (Haijin Gakko). It is generally understood that, assuming from thecommon use of this term at the time, “schools for the wasted” must have referred to schools that
accommodated children with visual, hearing, intellectual, physical/motor or other disabilities.
Nevertheless, despite the regulation of “schools for the wasted” for children with disabilities,
under the educational principal of the time to increase national wealth and power, education fordisabled children was never provided.
Prior to the Meiji Restoration, the foundation of life and skill training for people withdisabilities were mainly provided by the support of communities. However, the social andeconomic changes due to the restoration caused a great blow to the lives of people withdisabilities. During this time of drastic social changes, the first private school for deaf and mutechildren in Japan was established by a private philanthropist in 1878. Thereafter a few schools
for deaf and mute children were established privately and were later turned into public schools.
Schools for deaf and mute children were regulated as schools that align with elementary schools
in the Second Revised Elementary School Ordinance (Gakusei) of 1890, and regulations were
set out. In 1900, elementary school education was made compulsory clearly by the regulation in
the Third Revised Elementary School Ordinance. Simultaneously, it was regulated that children
with disabilities are exempt from or given a deferment for attending elementary school. For thisreason, education for children with disabilities relied on the efforts of private philanthropists andwas mostly a charitable social service.
Education for children with disabilities other than the deaf and mute children also started out
from schools and institutes that were established privately. In 1906 the first institution forchildren with intellectual disabilities, and in 1921 the first institution for children withphysical/motor disabilities were each established privately.

2Under the education system at the time, with the mission to develop “national prosperity anddefense,” children with disabilities were not included in the framework. However, due to theefforts of interested parties, a demand rose for compulsory and public education for children
with disabilities. As a result, related provisions in the Elementary School Ordinance wereseparated out and expanded, and were promulgated in 1923 as the Schools for Blind, Deaf andMute Ordinance. Though at this point the ordinance was limited to schools for blind, deaf andmute children, it triggered the transformation of such schools from a charitable social service toa public education system.
In 1941, the National School Ordinance was promulgated to replace the Elementary School
Ordinance with the aim of strengthening the education system during the war. During theplanning of the National School Ordinance, it was conceived to establish special educational
facilities for mentally and physically disabled children, and to make education for deaf and mutechildren compulsory. However, such measures could not be executed due to financial and otherreasons. However, the program for the schools for deaf and mute children was considered to bean equal or higher education program in regard to the program of the national school(elementary school). In addition, for children with other disabilities, including physical/motorand intellectual disabilities, regulations in this ordinance made it possible to form special
schools and classes that give consideration to those disabilities.
1.2 Years following the Second World War
After the Second World War, the Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law
were newly established in 1947 to replace the nationalistic laws that had been in effect. The
principle of equal opportunity in education was laid out in the Fundamental Law of Education,and three types of special schools were designated in the School Education Law as institutions
that provide education to children with disabilities: Special Schools for the Blind, Special
Schools for the Deaf and Disabled Schools. Education for children that belong to Special
Schools for the Blind and Deaf was made compulsory. Furthermore, regulations were made toallow the establishment of Special Classes in regular elementary, middle and high schools forstudents that are difficult to provide education in regular classes. Disabled Schools were meant
to accommodate “children with mental deficiency, physical/motor and other mental/physicaldisabilities.” In 1952, the Special Needs Education Division was set up in the Elementary andSecondary Education Bureau of the former Ministry of Education with a mission to promote
Disabled Schools and Special Classes.

3

At this time, the primary factor preventing the rise in the attendance rate of Special Schools for
the Blind, Special Schools for the Deaf and Disabled Schools was the heavy burden on theparents in comparison to a child attending a regular elementary or middle school. In response tothis situation, the Law for the Promotion of Attendance to Special Schools for the Blind, Special
Schools for the Deaf and Disabled Schools was enacted in 1954 to enforce policies forsupporting and encouraging children with disabilities to attend school. As for Disabled Schools,
the Act on Special Measures for the Arrangement of Public Disabled Schools was enacted in1956 aiming at promptly making education for children that belong to Disabled Schools
compulsory. This Act made way for providing support to Disabled Schools similar to what wasprovided to other compulsory public educational institutions. Furthermore, based on the final
report of the Central Council for Education in 1959, it was designated that Disabled Schools
shall be separated into schools that each correspond to the needs of children with mental
deficiency, physical/motor deficiency and health impairments, and relevant schools were newly
built.
As the quantity of education for children with disabilities expanded, demands rose for thenecessity of qualitative enhancement and detailed services. Thus, the National Institute ofSpecial Needs Education was established in 1971 to comprehensively conduct research on
education for children with disabilities. Initially, six departments for research on education forchildren with disabilities were established in the following areas: visual impairment, hearing
impairment and speech/language disorders, mental deficiency, physical/motor disabilities andhealth impairments, emotional disturbances, and multiple disorders. In 1973, the National
Disabled School at Kurihama (presently the Special Needs Education School for Children with
Autism, University of Tsukuba) was established adjacent to the above institute as a collaborative
institute to provide education to children with severe/multiple disabilities.
In 1978, school attendance exemption/deferment as an educational measure was basicallyabolished, and in the following year, education for children that belong to Disabled Schools wasmade compulsory. At the same time, a visiting-teacher instruction system was implemented forchildren and students whose disabilities make it difficult for them to commute.
In 1987, Tsukuba College of Technology was established. This school is a three-year national
junior college exclusively for students with hearing/visual impairment. This is the first juniorcollege in the world to set up a program for students with visual impairment. In 2005, Tsukuba
College of Technology became a four-year college and changed its name to National University
Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology.
4In 1993, enforcement regulations of the School Education Law were revised and instruction in
Resource Rooms was regulated and institutionalized. Education in Resource Rooms refers to asystem where, while enrolling in regular classes, students with disabilities such as
speech/language disorders, hard-of-hearing, emotional disturbances, low vision, physical/motor
disabilities, and health impairments are instructed at a special setting under a special education
program for certain classes. With the partial revisions to the enforcement regulations of the
School Education Law in 2006, education in Resource Rooms was extended to include students
with autism, LD and ADHD.
In 2002 the School Education Law Enforcement Ordinance was revised to set the level ofdisabilities (enrollment criteria) for Special Schools for the Blind, Special Schools for the Deaf
and Disabled Schools according to the developments of medical and scientific technology
concerning each type of disability, and the criteria for the enrollment of children withdisabilities to regular elementary and middle schools were amended. In addition, it was
regulated that specialists must be consulted when deciding on which school a child withdisabilities should attend. With further revisions to the School Education Law Enforcement
Ordinance in 2007, it was also made mandatory that the parents should be consulted when
deciding on which school a child with disabilities should attend.
Based on the principal of the special needs education to respond to the unique educational needsof each student regardless of their type of disabilities, the School Education Law was revised in2007 to consolidate the Special Schools for the Blind, Special Schools for the Deaf andDisabled Schools all into Special Needs Schools. Special Needs School is defined as a schoolwith the aim “to provide education aligned with the education provided at regular kindergarten,elementary, middle and high schools” for children with disabilities and “to develop theircapabilities for overcoming difficulties experienced in learning and everyday life and forbecoming independent.” In addition to providing education to its students, a Special Needs
School is also defined to serve a role as an institute providing what might be called “functions
as a support center,” such as providing advice and support on the education of students who
require special attention that are enrolled in the local regular kindergarten, elementary, middle,
and high schools.
With the revisions in 2011 to the Basic Act for Persons with Disabilities, there was a regulation
requiring measures to educate children with and without disabilities together as much as
possible.

52. Teachers of the Special Needs Education
It is regulated in the Education Personnel Certification Act that teachers of Special Needs
Schools basically must have both a special needs school teacher certificate and a certificate
corresponding to each division (kindergarten, elementary, middle, or high school teacher).
However, this rule is undermined by the condition “for the time being,” added by supplementaryprovision 16; and thus teachers at the Special Needs Schools do not necessarily have the special
needs school teacher certificate. (According to the survey conducted in FY2011, about 70% ofteachers at Special Needs Schools hold the special needs school teacher certificate.)
The number of universities that offer authorized programs for acquiring a special needs school
teacher certificate as of May 1, 2010 is: 51 (out of 82) for national, 2 (out of 78) for public, and63 (out of 576) for private universities. The number of junior colleges that offer authorized
programs for acquiring a special needs school teacher certificate as of May 1, 2010 is 2 out of
364.
Table 1: Number of universities and junior colleges that offer authorized school
teacher certificates as of May 1, 2010
Courses for Teacher
certificates as a

Courses for Teacher
%

whole

certificate for special%

needs school

National

82

76

92.7%

51

62.2%

Public

78

53

67.9%

2

2.6%

Private

576

469

81.4%

63

10.9%

Sub Total

736

598

81.3%

116

15.8%

Junior College

364

257

70.6%

2

0.5%

Total

1100

855

77.7%

118

10.7%

University

Source: MEXT
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/07/13/1286672_01.pdf

3. Issues and Challenges
Below are the challenges concerning special needs education described in a report by theSpecial Committee on the Future Direction of Special Needs Education of the Subdivision on
6Elementary and Secondary Education of the Central Council for Education on June 2012.
3.1 Special Needs Schools–

Adjustments must be made based on thorough planning in response to the recent increase in
student enrollment and the severity/multiplicity of disabilities, including adjusting thescale/size of the schools.

–

Special Needs Schools must expand their instruction/support functions to all local children
with disabilities by functioning as coordinators within the local school clusters to further
enrich their role to function as support centers.

–

Special Needs Schools must engage in improving their expertise while strengthening theirrole as support centers. At the same time, the schools must build a cooperative frameworkwith the municipal boards of education with consideration to role distribution.

–

Measures must be taken to promote barrier-free relationships between children with andwithout disabilities by promoting exchanges and joint learning opportunities. Opportunities
should be provided for exchanges and joint learning at elementary and middle schools in thearea where the disabled child resides. This is to provide chances for the child to deepen ties
with the local community. Furthermore, the understanding of parents and teachers regarding
such undertaking must be promoted.

–

Backup systems should be created for local special needs education by networking Special
Needs Schools and the prefectural special needs education center and the special needs
education section of the prefectural education center. Furthermore, active deliberations
should be carried out on how to effectively place teachers for strengthening the role of theSpecial Needs Schools as a support center in order to promote special needs education not
only during the compulsory education period but during kindergarten and high school as
well.

–

In order for local school clusters and the support center function of Special Needs Schools
to effectively serve their roles, networks of Special Needs Schools should be established toclarify the role of each Special Needs School according to its type and location.

3.2 Enhancement of Teacher Specialties–

Schools should utilize outside personnel when needed to enhance the specialties of theschool as a whole since it is difficult for all teachers to acquire specialties in a number offields.

–It should be understood that when pursuing the above, the leadership of management-level
personnel, such as the school head, is indispensable, as is the role of teacher consultants ofthe board of education that supports the school. For this reason, trainings must be conducted7

for such management-level personnel and teacher consultants.
–

Only about 70% of the teachers at Special Needs Schools hold the special needs school
teacher certificate (certificate of a relevant disability type or an individual subject). Fromthe viewpoint of enhancing the quality of education at Special Needs Schools, thespecialties of teachers must be promptly secured by increasing the rate of certificate holders.
Especially for teachers currently working, attendance of classes authorized by the law forlicensing must be promoted, and the specialties of certificate holders must be continuously
enhanced through training.

–

Teachers instructing in Special Needs Classes and Special Classes are significant leaders ofspecial needs education and their specialties have an extremely large impact on otherteachers in the school. For this reason, the specialties of the special needs education teachers
must be promptly secured through attendance of authorized classes; and once secured, theymust be further enhanced through continued training.

–“Convivial society” refers to a society where people with disabilities, who conventionallywere not necessarily in an environment where they could fully participate in the society, canactively participate and contribute to the society. To practice this concept in schools as well,
preparations must be undertaken for creating an environment where students withdisabilities can choose to become teachers.

References
1) CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/treaty/pdfs/shomei_32_en.pdf
2) National Institute of Special Needs Education
http://www.nise.go.jp
3) Special Needs Education School for Children with Autism, University of Tsukuba
http://www.kurihama.tsukuba.ac.jp
4) National University Corporation of Tsukuba University of Technology
http://www.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp<Taro NUMANO>

8

日本の特別支援教育 (記述内容の要点)
国連障害者の権利に関する条約への署名による共生社会の指向「特殊教育」から「特別支援教育」へ
1. 歴史
明治維新から第二次世界大戦まで
・ 学制における「廃人学校」の規定
・ 民間の篤志家による障害を持つ児童のための学校設立
・ 盲唖学校に対する法制上の準則
・ 「盲学校及聾唖学校令」の公布による慈善的社会事業から公教育体制への展開
第二次世界大戦後
・ 盲学校・聾学校・養護学校の設置
・ 盲学校・聾学校への就学義務化
・ 特殊学級の設置
・ 障害者に対する教育の量的拡大に伴う質的充実の要請
・ 就学免除・就学猶予の原則的廃止
・ 通級による指導の規定
・ 盲・聾・養護学校から特別支援学校へ
・ 障害の有無にかかわらず共に教育を受けられるよう配慮
2. 教員
特別支援学校の教員について
特別支援学校教諭免許の取得について
3. 課題
中央教育審議会初等中等教育分科会特別支援教育の在り方に関する特別委員会報告書から、特別支援学校と教職員の専門性向上について

9